The Inca tern has a dark gray body and a red beak and legs. Moustache-like tufts of white feathers on each side of the beak signal maturity in males and females. The bird feeds primarily on small fish, such as anchovies. The Inca tern nests on rocky cliffs in Northern Peru to southern Chile, laying its eggs in natural holes and burrows.

Inca tern by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The African Wild Dog has a richly patterned coat, with yellow, white, brown, black and red markings. Adults are roughly the same size as large domestic dogs, weighing up to 80 pounds and reaching 3.5 feet in length. Large, round ears help the species communicate with pack mates and shed the heat of its environment.

African Wild Dog


Bali mynahs have white plumage with black wing tips and bright blue coloration around the eyes. They gather in groups to better locate food and watch out for predators. Because of poaching in their native Indonesia, Bali mynahs are found almost exclusively in zoos.

Bali Mynah


The images shared in this post come from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois in both July and August 2021, after the zoo reopened from an extended pandemic closure. The Canon FD 500mm f/4.5L was extended by the Canon Extender FD 1.4X, creating a 700mm configuration. All images were captured in RAW using a Sony a7II mirrorless body mounted to a tripod. The image files were processed using Adobe Lightroom and Topaz DeNoise v6.

Collared finch-billed bulbuls are a common backyard bird throughout eastern and southeastern Asia.

Collared Finch-billed Bulbul


With tall, thin legs and a long, flexible neck, Chilean flamingos can reach up to 40 inches in height. They live in large flocks in the wild and require crowded conditions to stimulate breeding.

Chilean Flamingo